It turned out that this Yan army force had suddenly appeared at the edge of the Canglang Plains in the Xiyao region of eastern Wei, then advanced from north to south, launching a surprise attack on the front lines from the Wei army’s rear.
This area was near the forest edge, sparsely populated with only a few scattered small towns. Thus, the Yan army’s appearance here largely escaped the Wei people’s notice.
In this pincer attack, the Yan army captured the four most important cities on the Canglang Plains in one swift move. By then, the Wei forces had caught on and counterattacked despite the wind and snow, finally reclaiming one city.
These battles were extraordinarily brutal. Two Yan generals perished on the spot, and seven or eight Wei cultivators died. The combined casualties of both sides exceeded fifty thousand men.
In the end, Yan, having seized the initiative, claimed victory for this winter. The severely damaged Wei army could only retreat northward from the plains, with most forces withdrawing to the hilly regions.
The war had reached a new turning point.
The Canglang Plains were quite fertile farmland in southern Wei. Once the Yan army captured it, if they could endure through spring and summer, they would have a continuous supply of grain, providing strong support for Yan’s continued northern invasion.
This area would become a well-supplied rear base, significantly reducing the Yan army’s operational costs. This would have far-reaching implications for the entire course of the war.
This battle’s reversal of the war situation also changed public opinion within Yan. The voices that had criticized the King of Yan for being obstinate and wasteful of lives were suppressed, while praise for his divine military strategy and glorious victories began to rise.
The army’s morale soared accordingly.
“Fortunately, it’s still the dead of winter.” The Yan army couldn’t capitalize on their victory by pursuing into the snow-covered mountains. It would be another month or so until spring arrived, by which time morale would level off again. Feng Miaojun frowned, still unable to figure out one thing. “How did the Yan army fly over hundreds of li of obstacles to directly reach the northern plains? It’s suspicious that no one even saw them.”
Had they grown wings and flown over?
If she weren’t the Queen, she would probably have rushed over to see for herself by now.
In the Wei capital, within the palace city.
Xiao Yan was having a meal.
Despite the brilliant sunshine, his expression was poor. Faced with a table full of delicacies, he found it difficult to swallow. He hadn’t summoned any consorts to attend him.
Sometimes, a ruler needed to be alone.
“The State Preceptor has arrived!”
Before the announcement finished, Yun Ya walked in, his white robes flowing gracefully, his appearance handsome and distinguished.
His calm composure irritated Xiao Yan, whose mouth was full of sores. He snorted coldly: “What are you doing here?”
“I heard there’s crispy duck on today’s menu.” Yun Ya pointed at the table. “The cook at my residence never gets it right, so I had to come to the palace to eat.”
Xiao Yan was displeased: “When I need to discuss military matters with you, I never see you this enthusiastic.” Despite his words, he ordered the palace servants to bring another set of bowls and chopsticks.
Yun Ya picked up a piece of duck. The thin layer of crispy skin melted in his mouth, filling his tongue with a rich, oily fragrance that wasn’t greasy. He praised it while thinking of someone who particularly loved this crispy delicacy.
Just then, Xiao Yan happened to say: “Speaking of which, you said New Xia would help Wei resist Yan. Why are they still doing nothing?”
“For that, you’d better ask the New Xia State Preceptor. A gentleman’s promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold, but when Anan will fulfill it is beyond my control.” Yun Ya shrugged. “Otherwise, why don’t you let me make a trip to New Xia, and I’ll personally urge her?”
Upon hearing the words “New Xia State Preceptor,” Xiao Yan’s face soured even more.
Did the New Xia Queen have a grudge against him? Not only had she bewitched his State Preceptor, but she’d also snatched the woman he loved!
She was the woman he had yearned for since his youth. After enduring until the fall of the Xi Kingdom, he’d thought he would have a chance to invite her over, only to find she had been tricked into becoming New Xia’s State Preceptor!
Had he known, he would have personally made a trip to Xi to persuade Yu Haizhen!
“If you go, who will manage the elemental forces for me?” Each of Xiao Yan’s words seemed to be squeezed through his teeth. “We’re about to go to war!”
Yun Ya sighed with regret. It had been nearly a year since he’d seen her. He wondered if that heartless little one had thought of him, or if she’d been smiling sweetly at other men.
“Yun Ya, do you remember our agreement?”
“Of course, otherwise what do you think I’m doing?” Yun Ya narrowed his eyes. “Open a map and look clearly. Now, aren’t you fighting for hegemony over the world?”
Originally, there had been seven major countries in the world. An Xia had been absorbed by Wei, after which New Xia was established; Yao had been divided between Wei and Xia; both Pu and Xi had been conquered by Yan.
So up until now, there was one hegemon in each of the southern and northern continents: Yan and Wei respectively.
These two powers were fighting for ultimate supremacy.
Yun Ya had long promised to help Wei fight for world domination, and now he was fulfilling that promise.
Of course, Xiao Yan also understood that this was a war between Yun Ya and the King of Yan. He spoke seriously: “Have New Xia send troops as soon as possible.”
Yun Ya said softly: “The people of New Xia and Yao both have grudges against us, and they don’t want the Queen to deploy troops.” If Anan were to force the army to attack like the King of Yan did, it would inevitably provoke resentment among the military and citizens.
“That’s her problem.” Xiao Yan’s face was as cold as water. “A ruler doesn’t joke. What’s promised must be delivered.”
Yun Ya picked up another serving of silver sprout stir-fried crab meat and chewed slowly: “It will happen.”
Soon after, when Yun Ya connected with Feng Miaojun, the mystery of the Yan army’s successful surprise attack was finally revealed.
It turned out the Yan army hadn’t dropped from the sky but had taken an underwater route. To be precise, they had “walked” through the bottom of the water.
The border between the Canglang Plains and the forest was uninhabited by humans, which was why the Yan forces chose this location to emerge and assemble. However, they had still left witnesses, just not human ones.
According to Yun Ya, some monster inhabitants of the forest reported that more than forty days ago, a large human army had emerged from the bottom of the Moon Goddess Lake, one group after another, approximately forty to fifty thousand people. They had assembled by the lakeside for less than half a day before heading south, not even stopping for the night.
The monsters hadn’t dared to show themselves and could only observe secretly. Those tens of thousands of humans certainly couldn’t have swum there from the front lines; they had “walked” there.
The monsters swore that the waters of the Moon Goddess Lake had been parted by an invisible force, revealing the wet lakebed beneath. Only after all the humans had reached shore did this phenomenon end, with the lake water filling back into all spaces. The entire Moon Goddess Lake returned to tranquility as if nothing had happened.
Feng Miaojun’s first association was, of course, the Dividing Waters Halberd that had been auctioned off to a mysterious buyer at the Red Cauldron Fair. Now it seemed the buyer wasn’t so mysterious after all—merely the King of Yan or one of his subordinates. With the Dividing Waters Halberd in hand, they had guided their army through water routes to bypass the front lines, directly attacking the Wei forces from behind.
But the question remained.
Where did the bottom of the Moon Goddess Lake lead to?
Yun Ya had naturally asked this question as well. Surprisingly, the answer given by the monster natives of the forest was:
The Forbidden Sea.